Monday, March 20, 2017

EUROVISION 2017: QUITE A FEW COMEBACKS BESIDES VALENTINA MONETTA

Eurovision bubble is something many artists tend to return, or at least try. This year again in various national finals we have several previous participants trying again, including winners. But the sad fact is that usually the comebacks aren't so succesful. Previous winners in recent years from Dana International to Niamh Kavanagh and Charlotte Perrelli have tried and failed. But sometimes it works, like Poli Genova last year. In May we will know how it will go for these lucky ones who are back at it:

Omar Naber from Slovenia returns to Eurovision, and even to Kyiv where he represented his country for the first time in 2005. Back then he failed to make the final placing 12th in the semifinal.

Koit Toome and Laura from Estonia have both represented their country separately in the past. Koit placed 12th in 1998 and Laura as a member of Suntribe also did Kyiv 2005 but the girlband failed to make the final placing only 20th in the semifinal.

Moldova's Sunstroke Project did Eurovision 2010 with Olia Tira narrowly making the through from the semifinal and finishing 22nd in the final. Now the Epic sax guy & co are back with mamma instead.

Then we have Georgia's Tako who already was supposed to do Eurovision 2009 with Stephan & 3G and We don't wanna Put in, the song that never made it all the way to Moscow for obvious reasons. Now she's back as solo and is not disqualified nor withdrawn.

Besides them we have various backing singers stepping to the spotlight this year, like Israel's Imri and Serbia's Tijana.

And then we have Valentina Monetta returning for the 4th time after 2012, 2013 and 2014. She has done better every time she participated so this time she needs to make the final again and place better than 24th to keep up with the trend :-)

But besides these lucky (or let's see if they are "lucky" after the final in May...) ones we have a long list of names that tred and failed.

In Sweden we had two previous winners and two other participants taking part and hoping for the ticket to Kyiv. But both double winners of the past Roger Pontare (ESC 1994 and 2000) and Charlotte Perrelli (ESC 1999 winner and 2008) didn't survive the semifinals placing 5th and 7th. Finland's 2013 entrant Krista Siegfrids also came 7th or last in her semifinal and that was it. The previous winner and pre-contest favorite Loreen (ESC 2012) managed only access to second chance round and failed there to make it to the final.... Such a statement.

In Slovenia previous entrant Maja Keuc withdraw even before the semifinals and opted for other career moves..... Maybe a wise decision?

In Spain Javi Soleil of D'NASH from Helsinki 2007 Eurovision didn't make the cut and access even to the second round.

In Estonia among the participants were three previous winners. Ivo Linna (5th in ESC 1996) placed 6th, Elina Born (7th in ESC 2015) placed 12th and last, and Lenna Kuurmaa (from Sunstribe in ESC 2005) placed 10th, but as said before, two other previous winners did win it.

In Hungary András Kallay Saunders with his band (5th in ESC 2014) scored zero points in the national final and placed in the shared last place.

In Italy's Sanremo festival Eurovision double veteran Al Bano (7th both in 1976 and 1985) was knocked out before the final.

Lithuanian Sasha Song (23rd in ESC 2009) managed only to the semifinal stages. Even worse for Vilija who was kicked out after the first performance. She narrowly missed the final in ESC 2014 placing 11th in the semifinal.

In Norway Wig Wam's Åge Sten Nilsen (9th in ESC 2005) with his new band Ammunition finished 2nd in the national final.

In Romania MIHAI in his zillionth attempt to get back to Eurovision lost to the yodelin couple clearly and stays home yet another year.